


Brave and Bruised

by Honeywhisker



Series: Whumptober! [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood, Gen, Gun Violence, Panic Attacks, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 11:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16174343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honeywhisker/pseuds/Honeywhisker
Summary: When young Noctis meets a friendly Glavie everthing is going fine until it isn't. A lot can happen in a moment and when a gunshot goes off in the training grounds Noct is brought back to the night the Maralith came for him.





	Brave and Bruised

**Author's Note:**

> Day two of whumptober is bloody hands and why not hurt two boys instead of one.

He'd been walking around the halls of the Citadel, for once just enjoying some time to think in the quiet halls without anyone needing something from him. Plus it felt nice to stretch his legs. It had been a few years but the Maralith attack still left him sore and limping most days. 

Thinking of his sore muscles brought his feet to lead him to the shared Kingsglaive and Crownsguard training grounds. He still wasn't in tune enough with his own magic to warp on command, mostly it just happened at random when he was feeling strongly, but watching the Glavies only made him envious of what he would eventually be able to do.

They were practicing with blunt knives and going through the standard reps of footwork but many more were honing their magic use. The Crownsguard were going through training drills while some worked on a shooting range or the obstacle course. 

He could feel the bend of magic and could almost smell the ozone as a Glaive warped next to him. 

“What are you doing down here alone? Shouldn't you have a chaperone? Especially here, never know when an accident could happen.” 

The Glaive that spoke to him still had his mask on, making him look intimidating but he recognized the purple banners adorning this particular Glaive’s uniform and felt excitement bubble up inside his chest. 

“Are you Sir Ulric,” the question tumbling out of him before he could stop himself. With a bit more composure he added, “Dad said I could wander a bit. I'm in between lessons, so I don't need a chaperone.”

Nyx shoved his mask up so the kid could see his face. The pout on his face was adorable and he seemed like a sweet kid. Probably belonged to one of the nobles in the Citadel and just got lost sight seeing. He smiled down at the boy and crouched to be at eye level. “Tell you what, you can call me Nyx and we can talk while we find your parents. What's your name, kid?” 

“I'm Noctis and I know where my dad is but we can't go in there, he doesn't want people interrupting the meetings.”

Nyx smiled at the scuffing foot and slight whine to the boy's words. Obviously the importance of council meetings wasn't a shared belief. Raised voices over by the training grounds told him that tempers were probably rising. It wouldn't be the first confrontation with both groups sharing the grounds. He figured it'd be best to get this kid out of here before something happened that they all would end up regretting when his important father found out.

“All right then Noctis, How's about I take you to your next lesson? I'll feel a little better when we get you out of here. Permission or not I don't think dad wanted you wandering several floors down, passed a locked door, and across the courtyard to the dangerous training field.” 

Noctis looked a little unsure but seemed to reach a decision easy enough. “Okay but you have to swear to not tell Iggy I came down here, alright?”

The voices in the background were growing more heated and he flinched and the few swears he could hear being thrown around. Definitely time to get underage interlopers out of earshot. “Promise. Now. Let's get going before we have to watch these idiots try to fight and breath at the same time.”

A startled laugh escaped the boy before he slapped a hand over his mouth and shot Nyx a glare. Nyx just suggest and went to push himself up when several things happened at once. 

The in fighting between the Glaives and the Guard seemed to reach its peak and although Nyx couldn't be sure who threw the first punch it was easy for both sides to get caught up in it. The second thing was the loud report of a gun being fired. In this close quarters it was probably a misfire, but the result could be no less deadly. The pain that bloomed in Nyx’s side was unfortunately not a new sensation. The sinking feeling of regret and horror at the look of terror on Noctis’ face however was entirely new.

Nyx quickly pressed a hand against his side and tried to calm Noctis down. A panicking child in a room where several people were armed was not a good combination and already the boy was terrified. 

“It's okay Noctis. It was just a misfire. Sometimes guns can misfunction.” 

A thousand yard stare was his only response and that was more worrying than his gunshot wound. That could be easily fixed with a potion, what had caused that look on a child?

Thankfully the combined Glaive and Guard had gone quiet at the sound of a gun, everyone present to accustomed to the sound to think it was anything but and accidental discharge. They were all still tense but they seemed content to retreat and lick their wounds while they came off their own high. 

“Those swaddled, boot-licking, greenhorns wouldn't know what real conflict was if it bit them on the-” Nyx had a moment to be grateful Crowe saw the child before making this even worse with her swearing. “Nyx, care to explain why there's a child here?”

“You did not just say Nyx brought a kid into the arena,” Libertus glanced around Crowe’s narrow shoulder and swore softly. 

“Guys, I think I have a more pressing issue,” he bit out. He was starting to bleed sluggishly between his fingers and could see small droplets starting to dot the floor. No one noticed when Noctis glanced down at the blood, too busy arguing again with each other.

“Of all the fool's luck how did you manage to be the one shot?”

“I asked the gun nicely, you think I know why this keeps happening to me? Can you please heal me so we can deal with the problem at hand?”

Crowe snorted but placed a hand on his anyway, a green mist shimmering off her hand and into the wound on his side. 

The relief was instant as the pain receded and all that was left was the blood on his hand and the floor. He was able to make it to his feet right before the training hall doors burst open and Cor the Immortal strut in. 

Everyone present stood a little straighter under the glare of the Marshal. The man's gaze flickering from one face to another before settling on Nyx and the damning blood still visible.

“Ulric, to me.” 

A simple command and one he had to follow. He glanced around quickly to find that Noctis had vanished. His friends seemed to realize it as well and they shared a panicked look before the Marshal pointedly cleared his throat.

Nyx walked over to his commanding officer and stood at attention. Cor looked ready to launch into a lecture and Nyx thanked the Astrals for his career thus far because interrupting the Immortal was just not done.

“Sir, sorry to speak freely but there was a child here when the incident happened and he is now missing.”

Cor looked pensive for a moment before asking, “what is their name. We can see they are safely escorted back to their parents.”

“He said his name was Noctis, sir.”

He felt the room shift as the Crownsguard present shifted to attention and even Cor stood more rigid.

“Prince Noctis was down here when you were injured?”

Now it was Nyx’s turn to pale. He had been talking to the Prince? More importantly he had lost track of said Prince? 

“Come with me Ulric. The rest of you, I want you doing laps until I get back. If you can still breathe by then you weren't running hard enough. You duck out and you'll regret it. Get to it!” He waved Nyx over to the side and urged him to follow as he set a brisk pace. “His Highness was with you when you were shot?”

“Yes, sir. I didn't know it was the Prince, I was trying to convince him to go back to his parents.”

Cor nodded, a clear sign that the Marshal approved and that felt like the Meteor was lifted off his shoulders. 

“And I'm going to assume he saw the blood.”

Nyx simply nodded, absently wiping his bloody hand on his uniform to try and get the sticky red substance off him. Cor noticed and quickly made a detox to the water fountains by the restrooms. 

“Clean that up as best you can. Then take off your jacket. There can't be any blood.” Cor quickly stripped his own jacket and when Nyx’s hand was as blood free as it was going to get with plain water, traded him clothes. He tossed the bloodstained garment off to the side and had Nyx zip up his barrow ed jacket instead. 

“Kingsglaive probably doesn't know because you are always deployed beyond the Wall, but Prince Noctis was attacked. He was badly injured and the Crownsguard assigned to protect him all died.” He spoke this so matter of fact, as if the horrible attempt on a child's life was simply expected. Though, when one was a Prince and sole heir to a Kingdom, maybe it was. “Noctis was found barely responsive, under the still warm corpse of his governess. There was so much blood we couldn't tell where hers ended and his began. Prince Noctis still isn't in the right mind to handle blood. Now we're going to go in there and stop him from trying to wash off his skin and you're going to show him you're okay.”

Nyx nodded, the story wasn't anything worse than what he'd seen in combat, or even the fall of his own home, bit for some reason the idea of it happening to a sweet kid like the one he met on the triangle ground was making him ill. 

Cor seemed to stare into his eyes for something, some hidden meaning only the Marshal knew, but in the end seems to approve of what he saw because he held the door open for Nyx and let him pass with a nod, following a step behind into the large restroom.

Immediately they could hear soft sobs and choked off sniffles. The sound of an upset child who didn't want to be heard. It made his heart break. After everything this boy went through, surely he had found someone to help him decompress? Someone had to have talked to him about his trauma.

They saw him on his tiptoes trying to reach into the too tall sinks, water running everywhere and the skin of his arms already a raw red from the scrubbing and scratching he was doing. 

“Hey, Noctis, thought we lost you kid.” 

The boy startled and finally glanced over with red rimmed eyes to match his arms. “Nyx? You were hurt, there was blood on the ground. There was blood arms I can't get it off,” he started to scratch at his arms arms again before Cor stepped forward.

“Noctis, Little Star, it's okay. Everyone is alright and safe. I heard you were even making friends with the Hero of the Kingsglaive. You've heard what he's done, he's just fine and so are you.” 

Later Noctis would probably be embarrassed by the nickname but for now it seemed to do the trick as his hands dropped from his arms and he stopped trying to claw his way out of his skin. The boy sent him a skeptical look, something almost funny on such a young face before he remembers why it's there. 

“Let me see your hand,” and Nyx wordlessly obeys, reaching out with his once bloody hand and is thankful for the time he took to wash it. Noctis looks it over as though it held the secrets of Eos. In the end he nodded, apparently satisfied with what he found. He held his own hands up to Nyx’s, comparing them. Through this whole odd ordeal Cor was silent, Nyx assumed this was a normal occurrence for the young Prince. 

“I'm ready to go find dad now, but uncle Cor,” and Nyx had to hide his snort behind a cough. “Mr. Nyx can come too right?” like the traitor he is “uncle” Cor the Immortal smiled at the Prince and agreed to bringing a Glaive before the King with his young son latched onto his previously bloodied hand.


End file.
